Haptic feedback systems are currently used to provide a haptic effect to a user of a device, e.g., an electronic device. The haptic effect is imposed on the user when a certain event occurs, such as when the user presses a button or switch or touches a portion of a touch screen by applying pressure directly with a finger or indirectly using a stylus or other similar device. The haptic feedback can be used as a verification to the user that the user's input has been received, which can improve the quality of the user interface experience.
Typically, sensors are used to measure the pressure that the user applies to the surface. A control program running on a microprocessor evaluates the magnitude of the measured pressure and the location where the touch screen has been pressed. From this evaluation, the control program can determine when to provide haptic feedback and the nature of the haptic feedback. When the control program determines that haptic feedback is to be provided, it transmits a signal to haptic feedback hardware that is designed to provide the haptic response to the user.